Imaginary Scaffolding: Geniuses and Religious Conservatives

People raised as geniuses and people raised as religious conservatives have something in common. A significant portion of their identity rests upon a faulty belief system.

For those raised as super-geniuses, i.e. those who are told that they’re so smart they don’t really have to try, the faulty belief is that they will succeed without having to put forth any effort. For many raised as religious conservatives, i.e. those who believe they are automatically moral because of their religion, the problem is that they don’t feel compelled to behave morally during their day to day lives.

In both cases the problem is the same: the parent imbued a sense of accomplishment (and the associated pride) into the child at an early age. The religious parents made their child moral, and the genius’s parents made their child successful — all without any work on the child’s part.

In short, these children are raised to believe their worth comes from what they are rather than what they do.

What’s the expected outcome? Geniuses who aren’t successful and religious conservatives who aren’t moral, along with negative personalities forged in cognitive dissonance.: